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“Kind of like that,” Grace said. “But different too. It’s hard to explain unless you’ve felt it.”
Have you felt it, Gracie?
I longed to ask her. Had she loved her ex, Ryan? Had she loved someone else?
Could she ever love me?
22
GRACE
At the ski field,we hired equipment and got ready on a bench near the beginner slope. After so many winter days on the mountain, I was competent enough to ski the intermediate runs, and even a couple of the more advanced ones, but Tess wasn’t confident when it came to sports. She could ski well for her age, but she liked to be on familiar ground, and I didn’t mind staying there with her. Honestly, I preferred spending time with Tess and Nate to challenging myself on a black run. Their company made it feel like everything was right with the world.
I skied down the slope, slowing at the bottom, near where they waited. “Like this,” I said to Tess. “Remember?”
“Uh-huh.” She mimicked the pizza-style stopping motion I’d shown her.
“Why don’t you and your dad have a try?” I suggested. “I’ll wait here.”
She bit her lip, adorably nervous. Hopefully it wouldn’t be long before the basics came back to her and she regained some of her confidence. “Okay.”
I waited while they made their way to the top of the slope. When they got there, Nate helped Tess get ready to go and then paused until she’d made a start before following. Tess skied smoothly down the slope, her only glitch coming when she tried to stop too quickly, but she righted herself. Nate, on the other hand, was a disaster. He veered from side to side, barely slowing as he drew near us. I stepped in front of him and caught him before he could collide with anyone or anything else. Laughing, I backed off but held onto his shoulders until I knew he was stable.
“I had that,” he protested, but his grin showed in his eyes.
“Sure you did, Dad.” Tess sounded doubtful.
“I would have figured it out, Miss Sassy-Pants.”
Tess giggled. “But you’re even worse at skiing than I am.”
He straightened. “Sometimes it’s hard to be this awesome.”
Tess and I met each other’s eyes and snickered.
He narrowed his eyes at each of us and heaved an overly dramatic sigh. “Neither of you could possibly understand.”
“Da-ad.” Tess swatted his arm. “Don’t be silly.”
He yanked Tess into a hug and wrestled her into a headlock while she giggled and flailed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m not silly, am I, Grace?”
“I plead the Fifth.”
He chuckled. “You know New Zealand isn’t subject to the U.S. Constitution, right?” He released Tess and tousled the ponytail poking out from beneath her beanie. “Okay, you’re both better than me. Is that what you want to hear?”
“We can teach you,” Tess said.
Nate and I exchanged a smile. Her confidence was on the rise. Mission accomplished.
“I don’t think there’s any saving your dad,” I stage-whispered to Tess. “He has two left feet.”
“No, we can help,” Tess insisted. “Let’s do it again—all of us.”
“Okay, sweetheart.” Nate looked at her with so much love in his eyes that it almost hurt to witness. He was such a wonderful father, and I knew he could be a wonderful partner too. Just not for me.
We went up and down the slope a few times until Tess felt comfortable enough to try somewhere different. Nate’s skills didn’t improve much, but I was certain he was secretly proud of his inability to ski. Nobody who’d lived in Destiny Falls their whole lives could truly be as appalling as he was unless it was intentional.
At the bottom of another beginner slope, I looked up from helping Tess to find Nate watching me with an expression I couldn’t interpret. Anxiety churned in my stomach, but I told myself I was imagining the strange look. Then I saw it again as he took my hand to guide me onto a ski lift and again as I supported Tess while she removed her skis when she’d finally had enough.
